Active requesting of information for psuedo-live performance

ABSTRACT

Mass amounts of information, such as entire libraries of songs or movies, for example, may be stored locally near end-users, and this information may be accessed and reproduced in response to commands received from a transmitting station via a network. When a radio or television station desires to transmit a song or movie, for example, the radio or television station can, rather than transmitting the entire song or movie, merely transmit a command for reproducing the song or movie. An end-user&#39;s performance reproduction device, such as an enhanced radio or a television set, then accesses and reproduces the locally stored song or movie. Since the radio or television station need not transmit the entire performance, network traffic can be significantly reduced. The performance reproduction device may actively request information from the radio or television station when fresh or additional information is needed.

[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of prior pendingApplication Ser No. 09/597,428, filed on Jun. 20, 2000.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is related to co-pending application Ser. No.09/597,127, filed on Jun. 20, 2000; Ser. NO. ______, filed on ______;and Ser. No. ______, filed on ______.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of Invention

[0004] This invention relates to pseudo-live performance.

[0005] 2. Description of Related Art

[0006] Currently, performances such as radio or television broadcastsare transmitted to end-users via wireless and/or wired networks. Due toincreased network traffic, better technology is needed to make moreefficient use of available network resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This invention provides pseudo-live performance generator (PLPG)systems and methods that output performances using both locally storedinformation and transmitted information. Unlike conventional broadcasts(e.g., radio or television), the PLPG transmits one or more commands forgenerating a performance such as a song or movie. An end-user'sperformance reproduction device, such as an enhanced radio or televisionset, can then access and generate the performance by retrieving the songor movie from a local storage. A live performance may be “produced”immediately by the performance reproduction device by proper sequencingof the locally stored information including current weather reports,traffic, news, songs, movies, etc. Since commands may require much lessnetwork resources to broadcast, the PLPG may significantly reducenetwork traffic.

[0008] A performance reproduction device may actively requestinformation to be transmitted when the performance reproduction deviceis available to receive information when a performance transmitter, suchas a television station or radio station, is available to transmitinformation, and/or when an end-user programs the performancereproduction device to request information of a certain type or at acertain time. This request may be based on an activity status of theperformance reproduction device, an activity status of a performancetransmitter, an end-user profile, a performance transmitter profile, astatus of a storage device, and/or the like.

[0009] The performance reproduction device may also request informationfrom different performance transmitters to mix into a singleperformance. The performance reproduction device may locate performancetransmitters by scanning or by using a position detecting system, such aGlobal Positioning System (GPS), in conjunction with a stored lookuptable or the like.

[0010] These and other features and advantages of this invention aredescribed in or are apparent from the following detailed description ofexemplary embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] This invention will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing figures, wherein like numerals represent like elements, andwherein:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a pseudo-live performance generator system;

[0013]FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a performance transmitterof FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for transmitting aperformance;

[0015]FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a performance reproductiondevice of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 5 is an exemplary block diagram of a performance informationrequest device of FIG. 4;

[0017]FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram showing content of a storage deviceof FIG. 1;

[0018] FIGS. 7-9 show exemplary diagrams of command sequences;

[0019]FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for outputting aperformance;

[0020]FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for receivingperformance information;

[0021]FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for determining anappropriate information reception procedure; and

[0022]FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for transmittinginformation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] In typical radio or television transmission, a transmittingstation transmits a mix of real-time performance, such as local news,weather forecasts and real-time comments by the announcer or diskjockey, for example, and stored information, such as movies, songs,advertisements and/or the like. The transmission of the performance issynchronized with the output of the performance by an output device suchas a radio or television set. Depending on a particular programming, thereal-time performance may constitute a relatively small portion of thetotal transmission of the broadcasting station.

[0024] If information, such as entire libraries of songs or movies, forexample, are stored locally near end-users, this information can beaccessed and reproduced in response to commands received from atransmitting station via a network. Instead of transmitting entire songsor movies, for example, the radio or television station can transmit acommand for an end-user's performance reproduction device to reproducethe song or movie. The end-user's performance reproduction device, suchas an enhanced radio or a television set, may access and reproduce thelocally stored song or movie based on received commands. Since the radioor television station need not transmit the entire performance, networktraffic can be significantly reduced. Additionally, since information isstored at or near the performance reproduction device and subsequentlyreproduced, commands and/or other information necessary to generate aperformance may be transmitted asynchronously with generation of aperformance. The commands and/or other information may be transmitted atspeeds faster or slower than the performance. Thus, any availablenetwork resources may be used independent of the speed of transmission.Therefore, network resources may be utilized more efficiently.

[0025]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network 100 that couples performancetransmitters 210, 220 and 230 to a performance reproduction device 300.The network 100 may be any type of network or combinations of networkssuch as a cable network, telephone network, data network, broadcastingnetwork, or the like over any type of medium, such as wired, wireless oroptical. The performance transmitters 210, 220 and 230 are coupled tothe network 100 by links 110, 120 and 130, respectively, which may bewired, wireless or optical, for example.

[0026] The performance transmitters 210, 220 and 230 may be, forexample, radio or television broadcasting stations or any other type ofperformance transmitter adapted to transmit commands to performancereproduction device 300. The performance reproduction device 300 iscoupled to the network 100 via a link 140, which may also be eitherwired, wireless or optical, for example. The performance reproductiondevice 300 may be, for example, an enhanced radio or television set ofan end-user.

[0027] A storage device 400 is accessible by the performancereproduction device 300, and may be a mass storage device capable ofstoring a large quantity of information on the order of terabits ormore, for example. The storage device 400 may be Read-Only Memory (ROM),erasable ROM, disk, flash, etc. Although shown separately and connectedby a link 310, which may be wired, wireless or optical, the storagedevice 400 and the performance reproduction device 300 may beincorporated within the same physical unit, i.e., as part of theperformance reproduction device 300. For example, the storage device 400may be located within the enhanced radio or television set. If thestorage device 400 is provided separately, the performance reproductiondevice 300 may directly retrieve information from the storage device400. For example, the performance reproduction device 300 may access thestorage device 400 located at a local server of the network 100 that isdirectly accessible via local connections. In this way, local networkresources more dedicated to a smaller number of end-users are leveragedto conserve network resources that may be utilized by a larger number ofend-users. Additionally, the storage device 400 may have its ownconnection with the network 100 via a link 150, which may be wired,wireless or optical.

[0028]FIG. 2 shows an exemplary block diagram of the performancetransmitter 210 of FIG. 1. The performance transmitter 210 may include anetwork interface 211, a performance input device 212, a mixing commandinput device 213, a memory 214, and a controller 215, all of which areinterconnected by a signal bus 216.

[0029] The performance input device 212 receives performanceinformation, such as real-time voice input from a radio announcer or atelevision news anchor, or receives pre-recorded information such asadvertisements or the like. The real-time performance information may betransmitted directly to the network 100 via the network interface 211 orstored in the memory 214 and transmitted at a later time.

[0030] The command input device 213 may include one or more inputdevices (not shown), such as a keyboard, mouse, or one or more manualswitches, that enable an operator to input one or more commands. The oneor more commands may be transmitted to the network 100 via the networkinterface 211 or saved in the memory 214 for later transmission ascontrolled by the controller 215. The controller 215 may also generatenew commands based on the commands received through the command inputdevice 213. When received by a performance reproduction device 300, thecommands may activate reproduction of performance information for apseudo-live performance, or may initiate processes within theperformance reproduction device 300, as described in more detail below.

[0031]FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for transmitting aperformance. In step 1100, the process transmits information such assongs, etc. to be stored in the storage device 400 via the networkinterface 210, for example. It should be appreciated that step 1100 maynot be necessary because information may have been pre-stored in thestorage device 400. The process then goes to step 2100. In step 2100,the process composes performance information including one or morecommands for reproducing a performance based on the stored information.The one or more commands may include performance-oriented commands,housekeeping commands, programming commands, or the like, described inmore detail below, and/or may include commands for accessing othercommands already stored in the performance reproduction device 300, asalso described in more detail below. The composed performanceinformation may also include real-time performance information and/orstored performance information. The process then goes to step 3100.

[0032] In step 3100, the process transmits the performance informationto a network-controlled performance reproduction device 300 and goes tostep 4100. In step 4100, the process determines whether any moreinformation is to be transmitted. If no more information is to betransmitted, the process goes to step 5100 and ends. If more informationis to be transmitted, the process goes to step 6100 and determineswhether the information to be transmitted is to be stored in the storagedevice. If the information to be transmitted is to be stored in thestorage device, the process returns to step 1100. If the information tobe transmitted is not to be stored in the storage device, i.e., if theinformation to be transmitted is one or more commands or the like thatare to be used immediately or temporarily stored in a buffer separatefrom the storage device, the process returns to step 2100.

[0033] A transmitter may transmit data to the storage device while theperformance reproduction device is reproducing stored information fromthe storage device 400. A radio station could transmit one or morecommands to activate reproduction of stored information by the enhancedradio, for example; and then while the enhanced radio is reproducing thestored information, such as a song, transmit additional information,such as the following morning's news, for example. Furthermore, sincethe transmitter is not constrained to transmit synchronously withgeneration of the performance, the transmitter may transmit at speedsfaster or slower than the performance. Thus, “bursting” technology orthe like, in which information is transmitted at very high speeds, maybe utilized. Further, if it is cost-effective to transmit data atslower-than-performance speeds using less-costly transmitting technologyand equipment at off-peak periods of the network, for example, theinformation may be transmitted at slower-than-performance speeds.

[0034] In order to prevent unauthorized access, it may be desirable forthe information stored in the storage device 400, or a portion of theinformation, to be encrypted such that it can only be read with the aidof a key. The key may be transmitted along with or as part of commandstransmitted over the network 100. Alternatively, the key may be sent toan end-user separately by e-mail, regular mail, or be included with theperformance reproduction device 300 (i.e., installed with the hardware),for example. The keys may be sent upon receipt of monthly payments, forexample, or special keys may be sent to the end-user as a promotionaltool for new features already stored in the storage device 400.

[0035]FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the performancereproduction device 300. The performance reproduction device 300 mayinclude a network interface 310, a performance output device 320, astorage device interface 330, a communication synthesizer 340, a memory350, a controller 360, a performance information request device 370, anda Global Positioning System (GPS) interface 380, and a clock 390, all ofwhich are interconnected by a signal bus 395. While a bus architectureis illustrated for convenience, one of ordinary skill would know to useother architectures as the implementation circumstances may dictate.

[0036] The performance reproduction device 300 receives performanceinformation from the network 100 and may transmit requests forperformance information to the network 100 via the network interface310. The network interface 310 may include wired, optical or wirelessinterfaces such as an antenna, satellite dish or the like. The networkinterface 310 may include a plurality of tuners represented by tuners312, 314 and 316, each of which tune to a different performancetransmitter. Having multiple tuners allows the performance reproductiondevice 300 to receive and/or record information simultaneously from morethan one performance transmitter. However, it should be appreciated thatsome embodiments of this invention do not require multiple tuners.

[0037] The communication synthesizer 340 may perform audio or videosynthesis. For example, if text data of a news broadcast or the like isreceived from the network 100, the communication synthesizer 340 may,using known or later-developed techniques, generate a spokenreproduction of the news broadcast based on the text data. As anotherexample, when the performance reproduction device 300 is an enhancedtelevision or the like, the communication synthesizer 340 may, usingknown or later-developed techniques, generate a video of a “virtualweatherman” giving a weather report based on text or other data receivedfrom the network 100. The communication synthesizer 340 may include aninput device that allows an end-user to select synthesis options. Forexample, the end-user could select desired voice characteristics, afavorite newscaster, actor, or actress, or sign language orclose-captioning options to be used in generating the pseudo-liveperformance. Language translation functions may also be provided in thecommunication synthesizer 340 so that, for example, an end-user may“tune in” to an English radio station, but hear the performance inSpanish.

[0038] The memory 350 may store data such as programs or controlparameters and may also serve as a buffer for information received fromthe network 100. For example, the memory 350 may store informationtransferred from, or information to be transferred to, the storagedevice 400 or buffer information received from the network 100. In fact,the memory 350 may be a part of the storage device 400 or vice versa.The controller 360 controls where the information received from thenetwork 100 is stored.

[0039] When the performance information is received from the network 100via the network interface 310, the controller 360 may cause theperformance information to be sent directly to the performance outputdevice 320 or stored in the memory 350 for later output based oncommands either received from the network 100 or generated by a programin the memory, for example. The program may function based on a profilethat indicates end-user preferences. When a command is received from thenetwork 100 via the network interface 310, the controller 360 may, basedupon the command, retrieve information from the memory 350 or from thestorage device 400 via the storage device interface 330 for output tothe performance output device 320 for the pseudo-live performance.

[0040] The controller 360 may cause performance information receivedfrom the network 100 to be stored in the storage device 400 forsubsequent reproduction. The controller 360 may even cause performanceinformation to be sent to the performance output device 320 and thestorage device 400 at the same time. For example, when the performanceinformation is a newly released song or movie, it may be output via aspeaker or television monitor while being transmitted from atransmitting station, and simultaneously recorded in the storage device400 for subsequent reproduction. A user input device 362, attached tothe controller 360 via a link 364, allows an end-user to inputinformation to program the performance reproduction device 300 via thecontroller 360, for example.

[0041] It should be appreciated that the link 364, as well as a link 366between the controller 360 and the signal bus 395, may be wired,wireless or optical. For example, the user input device 362 and thecontroller may in incorporated into a remote control unit or the like.

[0042] The performance information request device 370 performs functionsnecessary to receive information from the network 100. For example, theperformance information request device 370 may generate informationrequests. These information requests may include requests for storageinformation, such as entire movies or songs, or libraries of movies orsongs, to store for subsequent reproduction. The information requestsmay also include requests for performance information, such asinformation for mixing with previously stored information for generatinga performance. The latter type of information may be or include commandsfor mixing previously stored information to compose a performance. Theperformance information request device 370 may generate informationrequests based on a status of the performance reproduction device 300, astatus of the performance transmitters 210, 220 and/or 230, a status ofthe storage device 400, and/or stored profile information, as describedin more detail below.

[0043] The performance information request device 370 may perform otherprocesses to receive information. For example, the performanceinformation request device 370 may maintain a schedule of whentransmitting stations are transmitting performance information (commandsor live performances) and tune to the appropriate stations duringtransmission time to receive the needed performance information. Theschedule may be obtained from a known channel that constantly transmitssuch information, received upon request from a designated channel, orpurchased from a store and loaded into the performance reproductiondevice 300 and made available to the performance information requestdevice 370.

[0044] The schedule may include information for all transmittingstations for a geographic area such as Northern America, for example. Inthis case, the performance information request device 370 may selectedfrom the schedule those stations that are local to the physical locationof the performance reproduction device 300 and transmit a request orotherwise obtain the desired performance information. The physicallocation may be obtained from the GPS interface based on the well knownGPS system.

[0045] The schedule may indicate for a particular station thatperformance information may be available on request during a specificperiod of time such as from midnight to 3:00 am, for example. Based onthis type of information, the performance information request device 370may delay sending the request for information for that station until thespecified time. Thus, the performance information request device 370 mayuse any number of techniques to obtain performance information so that aperformance may be generated on demand.

[0046] The clock 390 maintains the current time and outputs a clocksignal for use as needed by other components of the performancereproduction device 300. The clock 390 preferably synchronizes with anetwork clock (not shown) based on a signal received from the network100 via the network interface 310, so that, for example, sending arequest signal, tuning in to a channel to receive information, etc. canbe performed at the proper time.

[0047] It should be appreciated that there are also other suitablemethods of determining an appropriate performance transmitter from whichto request information. For example, the controller 360 may control thetuner 312, the tuner 314 and/or the tuner 316 to scan for localperformance transmitters. In this case, the GPS interface 380 may not benecessary. However, when performance transmitters are not continuouslybroadcasting, the GPS-based method is preferable because it determinesan appropriate performance transmitter from which to request informationeven if the appropriate transmitter is not currently broadcasting.

[0048]FIG. 5 shows an exemplary diagram of the performance informationrequest device 370. The performance request device 370 may include aperformance transmitter status detector 371, a performance reproductiondevice status detector 372, a storage device status detector 373, and/ora profile memory 374, as well as a request signal generator 375. Theprofile memory 374 may include one or more end-user profiles 3742 and/orone or more performance transmitter profiles 3744, described in moredetail below. The performance information request device 370 may haveits own controller and/or memory, but in the depicted embodiment, thecomponents of the performance information request device 370 operateunder the control of the controller 360 of FIG. 4, and any necessaryprograms or data used by the performance information request device 370are stored in the memory 350 of FIG. 4.

[0049] The performance transmitter status detector 371 may determinewhether the performance transmitter 210, 220 and/or 230 of FIG. 1 arecurrently available to transmit information. This determination may bemade by passively receiving a signal from the performance transmitter210, 220 and/or 230, or by actively sending a query signal, for example.

[0050] The performance reproduction device status detector 372 detectswhether the performance reproduction device 300 can currently receiveinformation. This determination may be (or include) a determination ofwhether the performance reproduction device 300 is currently in an “ON”state, and/or currently has the processing resources available toreceive and store information.

[0051] The storage device status detector 373 may, for example,determine whether information in the storage device 400 is up-to-date,or whether more information is needed in order to be up-to-date. Thisdetermination may be made by examining the time and/or storage devicesection of the last data writing event in the storage device 400. Forexample, if the storage device 400 contains a section for daily weather,and if this section has not yet been written to for the current day, itcan be determined that the storage device needs fresh data in order tobe up-to-date. The controller 360 may also transmit a query to determinea time of the latest update. If a time stamp of the weather informationdoes not match the time of the latest update, then an update isrequired, for example.

[0052] The profile memory 374 may store end-user profiles 3742 and/orperformance transmitter profiles 3744. The end-user profiles may, forexample, indicate what type of information an end-user wants recorded,and/or when the end-user wants it recorded. For example, an end-user maywork in an underground gold mine on Monday through Friday, and have nointerest in hearing weather reports for those days, wishing only to hearweekend weather reports. Such an end-user could, via the user inputdevice 362 (FIG. 4), modify his or her profile to instruct that noweek-day weather reports are needed. Another end-user may utterly detestrap music, and modify his or her profile to instruct that no rap musicselections should be reproduced or stored. As another example, anend-user could designate a period of time during which he or she doesnot intend to use the reproduction device 300, such as during a vacationor the like, so the PLPG system could avoid needlessly storing weatherand traffic information or the like that will be obsolete by the timethe end-user returns.

[0053] The performance transmitter profiles 3744 may, for example,indicate set times at which performance transmitters, such as radio ortelevision stations, broadcast data for storing. The performancetransmitter profiles 3744 may also indicate predicted peak times ofnetwork use by individual performance transmitters, and/or performancetransmitter capability information, such as whether a particularperformance transmitter has the capability to respond immediately toindividual user requests for information.

[0054] For example, one performance transmitter may have resources torespond individually to any user request for information. Anotherperformance transmitter may not be able to respond to individualrequests for information, and may instead do a general update broadcastevery hour, for example, to transmit fresh information to all end-userswho are tuned in at that moment. In the former case, the controller 360would determine that an information request signal could instantly begenerated and transmitted from the performance reproduction device 300.In the latter case, the controller 360 would determine, based on thegeneral update broadcast time(s) indicated in the transmitter profile,when to tune in to the performance transmitter to receive the updateinformation. The controller 360 may also determine whether informationwas received from the performance transmitter at the last scheduledgeneral update broadcast time, and only request information ifinformation was not received at the last scheduled general updatebroadcast time (e.g., because the performance reproduction device 300was turned off).

[0055] The request signal generator 375 generates a signal requestinginformation based upon information from any combination of theperformance transmitter status detector 371, the performancereproduction device status detector 372, the storage device statusdetector 373, the profile memory 374, and direct user input from theuser input device 362. It should be appreciated that, in someembodiments, or in some situations, the request signal generator 375 isnot used because, for example, the performance information requestdevice 370 may merely provide information instructing the performancereproduction device 300 to tune in to a certain performance transmitterat a certain time. In this case, no request signal needs to begenerated.

[0056] A request signal generated by the request signal generator 375may request fresh information, such as information to update the news orweather sections of the storage device 400, or may request specifictypes or selections of information. For example, an end-user may programthe performance reproduction device 300 to request transmission of aparticular song played earlier in the day. As another example, anend-user may be doing a research project on weather patterns, and mayprogram the performance reproduction device 300 to request transmissionfrom a radio station of selected weather reports from over the last tenyears. As yet another example, a user may be interested in certain typesof products, and may request, either directly or via an end-userprofile, for certain types of commercials to be transmitted forreproduction during commercial breaks. It will be appreciated that, insome of these examples, the end-user may need to have control over thetiming of the reproduction of stored information, and thus may use theperformance reproduction device 300 and the storage device 400essentially like a conventional video or audio recording device.

[0057]FIG. 6 shows an exemplary diagram of the storage device contents405. The storage device contents 405 may include a command storageportion 410, a communication synthesis portion 420 including voicemodels and/or other communication synthesis data, a short-term overlaystorage 430, a macro portion 440 including news, weather and trafficstorage portions, for example, a local station master table 450, andlong-term performance recordings 460 such as songs 1-N where N is apositive integer.

[0058] The command storage portion 410 may store individual commandsand/or command sequences, such as are described in detail below.Furthermore, the command portion may contain pre-stored commands orcommand sequences, and/or commands or command sequences that have beentransmitted over the network 100.

[0059] Commands may include performance commands, housekeeping commands,programming commands (i.e., software programs as compared to “radio”programs, for example) or the like. Performance commands may be, forexample, commands for reproducing information from specified locationsof the storage device 400. Examples of performance commands are given inthe following Table 1. TABLE 1 1 Command Time Duration Pointer — Code 2Play 1 Immediate 5 min. attached — 3 Play 2 12:00 p.m. 2 min. file id —4 Repeat daily 12:02 p.m. <5 min. macro id — . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .

[0060] Row 1 of Table 1 shows that a performance command may include acommand code, time, duration, and pointer parameters, for example. Otherparameters may also be included in a command as indicated by the dashes.Rows 2-4 show examples of possible commands. Row 2 shows a “Play 1”command code that instructs the performance reproduction device 300 tooutput performance information appended to the command beginningimmediately and continuing for five minutes. The Play 1 command code mayalso include a pointer to a file in the storage device 400. For example,a special value of “FFFF_(X)” may indicate “attached” and any othervalue may indicate a pointer in the storage device 400.

[0061] Row 3 shows a “Play 2” command code that instructs theperformance reproduction device 300 to reproduce a stored informationlocated at file id beginning at 12:00 p.m. and continuing for 2 minutes.Row 4 shows a “Repeat daily” command code that instructs the performancereproduction device 300 to generate a performance using a macro at macroid beginning at 12:00 p.m. and continuing for less than five minutes. Amacro may be a predetermined sequence of commands or special set ofprogram instructions to perform a sequence of functions. The “Repeatdaily” command may, for example, execute a macro that reproduces a newsbroadcast using the above-described communication synthesizer 340.

[0062] In the above-described performance commands, the “duration” maycorrespond exactly to the duration of the information to be reproduced.Alternatively, the performance reproduction device 300 may, for example,insert predetermined filler material before and/or after the storedinformation, and/or increase or decrease the playback speed (e.g., byevenly distributing or removing short intervals of silence, or actuallyincreasing or decreasing the time used for playback) in order to fillthe instructed duration. For example, if the indicated “duration” isfive minutes, but the stored information only requires four minutes andfifty-three seconds to reproduce, the performance reproduction devicemay insert a six-second message, such as “You are listening to station98.7, WMZQ”, and a one-second interval of silence. Alternatively, ratherthan containing a “duration” designation, a command may containinstructions to begin a performance reproduction after a previouscommand has been executed, without reference to a particular time ofday.

[0063] Housekeeping commands may include, for example, commands formanipulating or reorganizing information in the storage device 400. Someexamples of housekeeping commands are given in the following Table 2.TABLE 2 1 Command Type Size Pointer or — Code Name 2 Load movie 33Gigabytes attached — 3 Delete traffic 11 Megabytes file id — 4 Overlayweather 18 Megabytes file id 5 Change voice model 18 Megabytes file id —. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[0064] Row 1 of Table 2 shows that a performance command may include acommand code and type, size, and pointer or name parameters, forexample. Additional or alternative parameters may also be included in acommand. Rows 2-5 show examples of housekeeping commands. Row 2 shows a“Load” command that loads an attached (i.e., being transmitted via thenetwork 100) 33 Gigabyte movie to a specified location of the storagedevice 400. Row 3 shows a “Delete” command that instructs that storedtraffic information is to be deleted. Row 4 shows an “Overlay” commandthat instructs that stored weather information is to be replaced withnew information. Row 5 shows a “Change” command that changes a voicemodel of a particular anchor person due to an actual change in the voiceof the anchor person (e.g., if the anchor person caught a cold).

[0065] Programming commands (software programs) may include, forexample, software instructions for controlling the performancereproduction device 300 to generate pseudo-live performance. Forexample, there may be programming commands such as “case statement”,“loop”, “if-then-else” and/or the like. Such well known commands may beused to create macros or complete program productions based oninformation received over the network 100 and/or information retrievedfrom the storage device 400.

[0066] The communication synthesis portion 420 of the storage devicecontents may contain voice models, image models and/or the like that theperformance reproduction device 300 accesses to generate a synthesizedperformance based on text data or the like. For example, voice model 1may be a generic male voice model, voice model 2 a generic female voicemodel, voice model 3 a voice model of a known radio or televisionpersonality, voice model 4 a voice model of an end-user's grandfather,voice model 5 a voice model of a voice speaking English with a Frenchaccent, and so forth.

[0067] The short-term overlay storage portion 430 may provide a storagelocation for temporary information, such as special announcements,advertisements, and/or the like, which will be subsequently replacedwith fresh information. Information stored in the short-term overlaystorage portion 430 may be in the form of text data that is used, inconjunction with information from the above-described communicationsynthesis portion 420, to generate synthesized performance.

[0068] The macro portion 440 may contain separate sections for news,weather and traffic, for example, and may be updated as appropriatethrough the network 100 via load commands. The news, weather and trafficsections may be used like the short-term overlay storage 430 describedabove, storing information that will subsequently be replaced, and maystore information in the form of text data that will be used, inconjunction with information from the above-described communicationsynthesis portion 420, to generate synthesized performance. Furthermore,the news, weather and/or traffic sections may contain standard weatherreport recordings and/or text data segments, such as “Today will bepartly cloudy,” “There is a 40% chance of rain,” “Today's hightemperature will be in the 80's,” and so forth. In this case, ratherthan transmitting entire weather reports via the network 100, macrocommands may be transmitted that activate reproduction of one or moreappropriate standard recordings or text data segments that have beenpre-stored in the macro portion 440. For example, a macro may be definedin which the three above-mentioned phrases are combined. When a commandis received corresponding to this macro, the performance reproductiondevice outputs a synthesized or pre-recorded performance that says,“Today will be partly cloudy. There is a 40% chance of rain. Today'shigh temperature will be in the 80's.”

[0069] The local station master table 450 may be a table of allperformance transmitters, such as all radio stations, for example,within a given area, such as the United States or the world. The localstation master table 450 may, for example, show the correlation betweenbroadcasting frequency and call sign of radio stations, and mayadditionally contain description codes, such as a language code, musictype code, or the like. The local station master table 450 may also becorrelated with GPS information—e.g., the local station master table 450may indicate what range of GPS coordinates can receive the broadcastingsignal of a particular radio station.

[0070] Some examples of using the local station master table 450 aregiven below. In a first example, the performance reproduction device 300is an enhanced radio in a traveling salesman's automobile. The salesmanlives in Washington, D.C. and usually listens to radio stations locatedthe Washington, D.C. and neighboring areas. The salesman then drives toCalifornia. The performance reproduction device 300 detects, using theGPS system, that it is now in a different area that is out of range ofthe Washington, D.C. radio stations, and therefore determines thatinformation in the storage device 400 must be updated so that theperformance reproduction device 300 can receive pseudo-live broadcastingfrom local stations that are now within broadcasting range. Theperformance reproduction device 300 then determines, based on anend-user profile stored in the profile memory 374, that the salesmanwants to be able to listen to at least a jazz station, a classicalstation and an oldies station. The performance reproduction device 300may then access the local station master table 450 and determine, basedon current GPS coordinates of the performance reproduction device 300, ajazz station, a classical station and an oldies station that are withinrange. The performance reproduction device 300 may then determine, usingthe performance transmitter status detector 371 and/or the performancetransmitter profiles 3744 of the performance information request device370, when information can be requested from the respective radiostations. The performance reproduction device 300 may then generate aninformation request signal and/or tune in to the radio stations at anappropriate time to receive information. The radio stations thentransmit the requested information, thus updating the appropriatesections of the storage device 400.

[0071] In another example, a vacationer from Atlanta, Ga. is on a cruisein the Mediterranean Sea, and wishes to listen to his or her favoritehome radio station using the performance reproduction device 300. It isassumed for this example that satellite transmission or the like is usedso that the home radio station in Atlanta can transmit to theperformance reproduction device 300 in the Mediterranean. However, thevacationer wants to hear Mediterranean weather reports, rather thanAtlanta weather reports, so the performance reproduction device 300 isprogrammed to find a local radio station, using the GPS system and thelocal station master table 450, and request weather information toinclude when reproducing a pseudo-live performance.

[0072] The long-term performance recordings portion 460 may include songstorage sections Song 1-Song N (when the performance reproduction device300 is an enhanced radio), movie storage sections (when the reproductiondevice is an enhanced television), and/or other types of performancerecordings, for example. Each song storage section, movie storagesection or the like may contain a pre-stored song or movie or the like,or may include empty sections, thus providing a space for a song ormovie to be stored in the future. Parts of the long-term performancerecordings portion 460 may be read only, while other parts may beoverwritten by other information.

[0073] Each item of information in the long-term performance recordingsportion 460, such as each song or movie, may be tagged with as muchadditional information as desired. For example, country music songs maybe tagged with a “country” tag, songs about girls named “Charlene” maybe appropriately tagged, and/or tags may be provided that cause the nameof the song, the recording artist, and/or the like to appear on adisplay while the song is being reproduced. These tags may, for example,be accessed by the above-described commands. For example, a command mayinstruct that songs having a “Garth Brooks” tag be played in succession.

[0074] It should be appreciated that there may be various other portionsincluded in the storage device 400, such as an advertisement portion, acommercial portion and/or the like. It should also be appreciated thatthe storage device may contain fewer storage portions than are shown inFIG. 6. For example, the storage device may contain only the long-termperformance recordings portion 460.

[0075] The commands described above may be transmitted and/or stored aspart of larger command sequences. This allows an extended period ofpseudo-live performance generation to be programmed in advance.Exemplary command sequences are described below.

[0076]FIG. 7 is a diagram of one exemplary command sequence 500. Thecommand sequence 500 includes “news” commands 510 and 522, “weather”commands 512 and 524, “traffic” commands 514 and 526, and “song”commands 516, 518, 520 and 528. In this example, at 6:00 AM on Day 1 ofprogramming, the “news” command 510 causes news information to bereproduced from the “news” storage portion of the macro portion 440(FIG. 5) of the storage device 400. Next, at 6:15 AM, the “weather”command 512 causes weather information to be reproduced from the“weather” storage portion of the macro portion 440 of the storage device400. At 6:18 AM, the “traffic” command 514 causes traffic information tobe reproduced from the “traffic” storage portion of the macro portion440 of the storage device 400. Then “song” commands 516, 518 and 520cause song 32, song 45 and song 981 to be reproduced from the long-termperformance recordings portion 450 of the storage device 400 at 6:23 AM,6:27 AM and 6:32 AM, respectively.

[0077] The command sequence 500 may be as long as desired, and mayinclude commands for reproducing information that has not yet beenstored. For example, the command sequence 500 includes the “news”command 522 for reproducing news information from the storage device 400on Day 461 of programming, but it is obvious that, at the time thecommand sequence 500 is sent, the news for Day 461 is not yet known.Therefore, the “news” storage portion of the macro portion 440 of thestorage device 400 will be updated with fresh news information for Day461 at some time prior to 6:00 AM on Day 461, for example, and then thisupdated information will be reproduced at 6:00 AM on Day 461 based onthe previously transmitted command sequence.

[0078] Furthermore, the command sequence 500 itself may be updated orinterrupted. For example, according to the command sequence 500, song541 is scheduled to be reproduced at 6:23 AM on Day 461. However, if itis desired to transmit an urgent and/or unexpected public announcementat 6:20 AM, for example, the public announcement may be transmitted andstored in the storage device 400 and a new command corresponding to thepublic announcement may be transmitted to replace the “song” command528. Then, at 6:23 AM, rather than reproducing song 541, as previouslyscheduled, the performance reproduction device 300 will reproduce thepublic announcement. Alternatively, at 6:20 AM, the public announcementmay, as a real-time transmission, interrupt the traffic information thatis currently being reproduced based on the “traffic” command 526.

[0079]FIG. 8 is a diagram of another exemplary command sequence 600. Thecommand sequence 600 is similar to the command sequence 500, except thatthe “news”, “weather” and “traffic” commands are replaced with“real-time transmission” blocks 610 and 618. In this case, rather thanpre-storing news, weather and traffic information in the storage device400, the news, weather and traffic information, and/or any other desiredinformation, is transmitted in real-time to the performance reproductiondevice 300 during the indicated time blocks.

[0080]FIG. 9 is a diagram of yet another exemplary command sequence 700.The command sequence 700 is not necessarily time dependent. The commandsequence 700 includes “song” commands 710, 712, 714, 716, 720, 722, 724,. . . , which cause songs to be reproduced from the storage device inthe order of song 32, song 45, song 981, song 451, song 320, song 29,song 682, song 121, . . . The order of the songs may be generatedrandomly, may be determined by a software program (programmingcommands), or may be selected as desired by one or more persons involvedwith transmitting or pre-storing the command sequence 700. Furthermore,the command sequence 700 may contain one or more commands correspondingto songs that have not yet been stored in the storage device.

[0081] Using the command sequence 700, the performance reproductiondevice 300 reproduces songs in the instructed order until a signal isreceived from the network 100. The performance reproduction device 300treats this receipt of a signal as a command to reproduce performanceinformation received from the network 100. The performance reproductiondevice 300 then inserts performance information received from thenetwork 100 into the mix of information being reproduced.

[0082] In FIGS. 7-9, individual commands are part of larger commandsequences. However, it should be appreciated that commands may betransmitted and/or stored individually, if desired or appropriate.

[0083] Program sequences may be generated by the reproduction device 300by using programming commands such as loops, branches, if-then-elsestatements, and/or case statements as is well known to those skilled insoftware programming art. Special commands may handle real-timeperformances or account for unexpected circumstances such as storagefailure, etc.

[0084] When it is desired to transmit information to the performancereproduction device 300, the performance transmitter 200 may, by keepingtrack of the time, know when a break, such as a break between songs,will occur and transmit a signal at this break. Alternatively, theperformance transmitter 200 may transmit the signal at an arbitrarytime, and the performance reproduction device 300 may receive thesignal, temporarily store information transmitted from the performancetransmitter via the network 100, and reproduce the transmittedinformation at the next available, or otherwise designated, break.Obviously, if a transmission from the performance transmitter 200 isurgent (e.g., national emergency), information such as a song, forexample, that is currently being reproduced by the performancereproduction device 300 may be interrupted.

[0085] After the command sequence 700 has been thus interrupted andinformation received through the network 100 has been reproduced, theperformance reproduction device 700 may continue reproducing songsaccording to the command sequence 700. Alternatively, a new commandsequence may be followed.

[0086] Several examples of specific operations performed using theabove-described network 100, performance transmitter 200, performancereproduction device 300 and storage device 400 are described below. In afirst example, the performance transmitter 200 is a radio station, theperformance reproduction device 300 is an enhanced radio, and thestorage device 400 has been pre-loaded with a library of songs. A radioannouncer speaks into a microphone, which is included in the performanceinput device 220 of FIG. 2, and says, for example, “Here are the threemost-requested songs of this week.” The announcer then pushes one ormore buttons, for example, on the command input device 230, and acommand signal sequence including a Play 1 command appending theannouncer's real-time performance is generated and transmitted to thenetwork 100.

[0087] The announcer's voice information announcing “Here are the threemost-requested songs of this week” is output through the performanceoutput device 320, corresponding in this case to a radio speaker, basedon the Play 1 command. The remaining command signal sequence is executedby retrieving the three songs from the storage device 400 and outputtingthem to the radio speaker in the order indicated by the command signalsequence.

[0088] The radio station may transmit addition program information anytime before the reproduction of the songs is completed. For example, theradio announcer may announce, “We will be back with more music afterthese messages from our sponsors” and then issue commands forreproduction of pre-recorded commercials or the like. The correspondingcommands are transmitted to the performance reproduction device 300prior to the actual performance output time. Thus, the radio station isprovided great flexibility in performance production because the time ofperformance production is not tightly coupled to the time of performanceoutput.

[0089] In a second example, the performance transmitter 200 may be atelevision station, and the performance reproduction device 300 may bean enhanced television set. The end-user watches a new episode of aweekly program. While the end-user is watching the new episode, the newepisode is simultaneously recorded to the storage device 400. Monthslater, it is decided to re-run the episode. However, rather thanre-transmitting the entire episode, the television station transmits oneor more command signals to the enhanced television set, instructing theenhanced television set to retrieve and output the episode from thestorage device 400.

[0090] In a third example, the performance transmitter 200 is a radiostation and the performance reproduction device 300 is an enhanced carradio. At 1:00 AM, the end-user is asleep at home in Washington, D.C.,and is not listening to the car radio. However, the radio stationreceives world news information from the British Broadcasting Company inGreat Britain, and automatically stores this information to the storagedevice 400, along with one or more commands. Later, at 7:30 AM, whiledriving to work, the end-user listens to the car radio. Based on thepreviously transmitted one or more commands, the car radio retrieves andreproduces the information that was stored earlier that morningbeginning at 1:00 AM. In this manner, information may be transferred tothe car radio at low network usage times and any time prior to thegeneration of a performance. Furthermore, from this example it is seenthat a real-time radio announcer is not required.

[0091]FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for outputting aperformance in response to information received from the network 100. Instep 1000, the process receives performance information via the network100 and goes to step 2000. In step 2000, the process decodes commands,if necessary, and mixes the performance information with storedinformation and goes to step 3000. In step 3000, the process outputs aperformance and goes to step 4000.

[0092] In step 4000, the process determines whether one or more portionsof the performance should be recorded. This determination may, forexample, be based on whether the one or more portions of the performanceare already stored in a local storage device. If the result of thedetermination of step 4000 is “YES”, the process continues to step 5000.Otherwise, the process jumps to step 6000. In step 5000, the processrecords one or more portions of the performance and goes to step 6000and ends.

[0093] It should be appreciated that steps 1000-5000 may be performedconcurrently for different portions of the program. Furthermore, itshould be appreciated that some embodiments of the invention may notimplement steps 4000-6000. Also, the performance reproduction device 300may independently generate the bulk of the performance based onperformance generation programs already stored in the storage device400, and the performance generation programs may respond to informationreceived via the network 100 to redirect the performance output.

[0094]FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for receivingperformance information. In step 1200, the process determines whetherinformation is needed. This step is repeated until the determinationresult is “YES”. The process then continues to step 2200 and determinesan appropriate information reception procedure. Next, in step 3200, theprocess receives the requested information via a network. The processthen goes to step 4200 and ends.

[0095]FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for determining anappropriate information reception procedure of step 2200. In step 2205,the process may store performance transmitter profile information. Forexample, as described above, performance transmitter profiles mayindicate set times at which performance transmitters, such as radio ortelevision stations, broadcast data for storing. The performancetransmitter profiles may also indicate predicted peak times of networkuse by individual performance transmitters, and/or performancetransmitter capability information, such as whether a particularperformance transmitter has the capability to respond to individual userrequests for information.

[0096] The performance transmitter profile information may be stored inadvance, or may be transmitted over the network 100, for example. Theperformance transmitter profile information may be transmitted over theregular transmitting channel or frequency of a performance transmitter,or transmitted over a separate channel or frequency available to theperformance transmitter. As an example of a separate channel orfrequency, the performance transmitter could transmit the performancetransmitter profile information over a sideband, or over a separatechannel provided especially for such a purpose. A designated channel orfrequency, such as TV channel “1”, could be commonly used by a pluralityof performance transmitters to transmit performance transmitter profileinformation. The transmitted profile information may be entire profiles,or may be updates to existing profiles.

[0097] After performance transmitter profile information is stored, theprocess continues to step 2210 and determines whether a profile isavailable for a designated performance transmitter. This may be done,for example, by automatically scanning through a list of profiles when aradio is tuned to a specific channel, and determining whether thetuned-in channel has a profile available, or by scanning through thelist of profiles in response to an end-user's request that has beeninput. If a profile is available, the process goes to step 2215.Otherwise, the process goes to step 2240.

[0098] In step 2215, the process determines, based on the availableprofile, whether the designated performance transmitter can receive arequest. If the performance transmitter can receive a request, theprocess goes to step 2220. Otherwise, the process goes to step 2230. Instep 2220, the process generates an information request, then goes tostep 2225 and transmits the request to the performance transmitter via anetwork, and then goes to step 2255.

[0099] In step 2230, the process determines whether the performancetransmitter will transmit information at a predetermined time. If theperformance transmitter will transmit information, the process goes tostep 2235. If the performance transmitter will not transmit information,the process goes to step 2260. In step 2235, the process tunes in to theperformance transmitter at the appropriate time, and goes to step 2255.In step 2255, the process returns to step 3200 of FIG. 11.

[0100] In step 2240, the process sends a query signal to the designatedperformance transmitter to determine whether the performance transmittercan transmit the needed information. The query signal may, for example,simply be a “ping” or the like. The query signal may be transmitted overa sideband or a specially designated channel or frequency, which may beestablished by convention. For example, it may be established byconvention that all performance transmitters who are going to receivequery signals will receive the query signals on a sideband adjacent totheir normal transmitting frequency or bandwidth, for example.

[0101] The process then goes to step 2245 and determines whether aresponse has been received from the performance transmitter. If aresponse is received, the process goes to step 2250. Otherwise, theprocess goes to step 2260.

[0102] In step 2250, the process executes a procedure specified in theresponse received from the performance transmitter. For example, if theperformance transmitter can respond to an individual request forinformation, the response may say, in effect, “Yes, I am here, and I canrespond to your individual request. Tell me what information you need,”or “Get ready to receive all the information I have available totransmit now.” If the performance transmitter cannot respond toindividual requests, the response may say, in effect, “I cannot transmitperformance information in response to individual requests, but I willtransmit general update information at 5:10 am, 11:10 am, 3:10 pm and8:10 pm. Tune in at one of those times.” The process in step 2250 doesas instructed, then goes to step 2260 and returns to step 4200 of FIG.11.

[0103] It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, profileinformation may not be stored, and thus, for example, step 2205 will beunnecessary.

[0104]FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for transmittinginformation. In step 1300, the process may generate profile information,such as the performance transmitter profile information described abovein connection with FIG. 12, and then goes to step 2300. In step 2300,the process transmits the profile information to a performancereproduction device 300 or a storage device 400 via the network 100.This transmission may be performed over the transmission channelnormally used by a performance transmission device, or may be over aseparate channel or bandwidth, for example, such as a sideband or aspecially designated channel or frequency. The process then goes to step3300.

[0105] In step 3300, the process receives a request from a performancereproduction device 300 for performance information. The process thengoes to step 4300 and transmits the requested information. The processfinally goes to step 5300 and ends.

[0106] The performance transmitter 200 and the performance reproductiondevice 300 can each be implemented on a general purpose or specialpurpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller andperipheral integrated circuit elements, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or other integrated or non-integrated circuit,a programmable logic device such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA or PAL, or thelike, or any appropriate combination thereof. In general, any devicecapable of implementing at least some portions of the flowcharts shownin FIGS. 3 and 9 can be used to implement the performance transmitter200 or the performance reproduction device 300.

[0107] Using the above-described embodiments, “pseudo-live” transmissionmay be performed in which, although the performance reproduced by aperformance reproduction device has the appearance of a “fully live”transmission, part of the performance has actually been stored in ornear the performance reproduction device in advance. The end-user maynot even realize that this is the case.

[0108] While the invention has been described in conjunction with thespecific embodiments described above, many equivalent alternatives,modifications and variations will become apparent to those skilled inthe art once given this disclosure. For example, the performancetransmitter 200 and the performance reproduction device 300 are shown inFIGS. 2 and 4 using bus architecture when any other architecture may beused as is well known in the art. Accordingly, the exemplary embodimentsof the invention as set forth above are considered to be illustrativeand not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0109] For example, although the embodiments described above use theGlobal Positioning System, any other suitable positions detecting systemcould be used. For example, cell phones transmit a unique identificationsignal, based upon which their position with respect to a network can bedetermined. This technology is another example of position detectingtechnology that may be employed within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for receiving performance informationover a network for generating a pseudo-live performance, the methodcomprising: detecting a need for the performance information; selectinga process for obtaining the needed performance information; andexecuting the process.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting aneed for the performance information comprises one or more of:determining a time of a previous information reception event; detectinga status of a storage device; and accessing a profile.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the profile indicates one or more of: a type ofinformation desired by an end-user; a schedule of an end-user; andscheduled times at which information is transmitted by a performancetransmitter.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a processcomprises determining whether a performance transmitter can receive aninformation request.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determiningwhether a performance transmitter can receive an information requestcomprises one or more of: transmitting a query signal to the performancetransmitter; passively receiving a signal from the performancetransmitter; and accessing a profile.
 6. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: generating an information request; and transmitting therequest to the performance transmitter via the network.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the selecting a process comprises determining anappropriate time to receive information from a performance transmitter.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the pseudo-liveperformance by mixing information corresponding to one or more portionsof the needed performance information with other information.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, the generating the pseudo-live performancecomprising: retrieving the other information; decoding one or morecommands of the other information; and performing one or more tasksinstructed by the commands.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the oneor more commands includes one or more of programming commands thatexecute a software program, housekeeping commands that load, delete,change or overlay stored information, and performance commands thatreproduce stored information from one or more specified locations of astorage device.
 11. A method for transmitting performance informationover a network, comprising one or more of: transmitting the performanceinformation in response to a request received via the network;transmitting the performance information periodically; and transmittingprofile information that indicates one or more of: a capability torespond to individual requests; and a predetermined time when theperformance information will be transmitted.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the performance information is transmitted by a performancereproduction device.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the performanceinformation is transmitted by an original source of the performanceinformation.
 14. A pseudo-live performance generator, comprising acontroller that: detects a need for performance information; selects aprocess for obtaining the needed performance information; and executesthe process.
 15. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14,wherein the controller detects the need for the performance informationby one or more of: determining a time of a previous informationreception event; detecting a status of a storage device; and accessing aprofile.
 16. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 15, whereinthe profile indicates one or more of: a type of information desired byan end-user; a schedule of an end-user; and scheduled times at whichinformation is transmitted by a performance transmitter.
 17. Thepseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein the controllerdetermines whether a performance transmitter can receive an informationrequest.
 18. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 17, whereinthe controller performs one or more of: transmitting a query signal tothe performance transmitter; passively receiving a signal from theperformance transmitter; and accessing a profile.
 19. The pseudo-liveperformance generator of claim 17, further comprising: a requestgenerator that generates an information request, wherein the controllertransmits the request to the performance transmitter via the network.20. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein thecontroller determines an appropriate time to receive information from aperformance transmitter.
 21. The pseudo-live performance generator ofclaim 14, wherein the controller generates the pseudo-live performanceby mixing information corresponding to one or more portions of theneeded performance information with other information.
 22. Thepseudo-live performance generator of claim 21, wherein the controller:retrieves the other information; decodes one or more commands of theother information; and performs one or more tasks instructed by thecommands.
 23. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 22, whereinthe one or more commands includes one or more of programming commandsthat execute a software program, housekeeping commands that load,delete, change or overlay stored information, and performance commandsthat reproduce stored information from one or more specified locationsof a storage device.
 24. A pseudo-live performance transmitter,comprising: a transmitter; and a controller coupled to the transmitter,the controller performing one or more of: transmitting performanceinformation in response to a request received via the network;transmitting performance information periodically; and transmittingprofile information that indicates one or more, of: a capability torespond to individual requests; and a predetermined time when theperformance information will be transmitted.